Three months before the high mass of the round ball in Qatar, the World Cup calendar has been turned upside down – and rightly so. When FIFA first placed bets on an opening match between the Netherlands and Senegal, at 11 a.m. on November 21, the Qatari authorities on the menu for this curtain raiser had a logical return to tradition with the host nation from the international federation.

Instead of reversing the respective matches, FIFA decided on Thursday to advance the opening of the tournament by one day, rescheduling the Qatar-Ecuador poster for the 8pm slot on November 20 at Al-Bayt in Al-Khor. A match that takes place before the opening ceremony (first scheduled after the first game). The following program is reserved for us on November 21: England-Ireland at 2pm, Senegal-Netherlands at 5pm, United States-Wales at 8pm.

The FIFA Council Bureau confirmed #worldcup 2⃣0⃣2⃣2⃣ Opening ceremony and competition 🇶🇦 v. 🇪🇨 Moved forward one day as a stand-alone event, November 20, 19.00. 🇸🇳 v. 🇳🇱 Rescheduled for November 21 from 13.00 to 19.00. pic.twitter.com/GsktwYNYCl

– FIFA Media (@fifamedia) August 11, 2022

« The change continues the long-standing tradition of the start of a FIFA World Cup marking an opening ceremony held as part of its first match, usually involving the host nation or the title holder.FIFA said in a press release today. The decision follows an assessment of the sporting and operational implications of this restructuring, as well as an extensive consultation process and agreement with key stakeholders and the host nation. »